[SE] Publish or perish

"Whoa..." Tal mumbled, looking around. He couldn't tell if if had more or less books than the Atheneum, but it was still huge enough to intimidate the hail out of him. His big, burly, cheerful dragon leaned against his hip briefly to provide morale support before she abandoned him to trot deeper into the room, making the friendly acquaintance of several students along the way.

It was a very timid courier who asked a librarian for help. The young man looked around his age and, though harried, didn't seem inclined to call Tal's bluff and toss him out on his ass. He pointed him towards a section off in a corner and then left to answer another student's question nearby, leaving Tal to his own devices.

The corner was a little on the dim side. The lamps seemed to struggle to stay lit and the shadows danced eerily across the shelves as he ran his fingers along the spines of the newer slender volumes resting there. He snagged a half dozen more or less at random and looked around for a place to sit.

A nearby study carrel was empty, so Tal grabbed the chair and spun it around, settling in to scowl down at the field reports. He shivered as an unseasonably chill breeze blew past him, fluttering the pages of his open book and causing the lamps to flicker even more precariously.

Open!

Maea

And time it waits for no one
It heals them when you die

It was definitely bigger than the Aetheneum. Not just in the sense of housing more books, and guesting more students; the scale of the building was grander too. Unlike her homeland Stormbreak facilities in general carried a sense of polish, of a smoothly running clockwork where every individual part was properly doing its job and would keep on going past the end of times. It was frankly annoying, and Maea found her temper fluctuating wildly as she searched the building for Tal. She caught herself holding her breath, and that pissed her off. She caught herself tucking her tail out of sight whenever she passed a gaggle of youths in the hallway, and that set her teeth on edge. She found herself trying to walk quietly so as not to make an echo, and the slight hunch of the shoulders had her suppressing a scream, lodged sideways under the collarbone and growing with every side-eyed look and hushed whisper that followed in her wake.

These people needed to get out more if the sight of an Ancient could become the topic of the day. Gods.

When she eventually found the Messenger, it was with a frown permanently etched into her brow. "Any luck so far?" she asked. Dropping her bags and boxes onto the floor with unnecessary force, she pulled up a chair and turned it wrong side before sitting down, straddling the back rest and leaving the tail free to vent pent up irritation into the air. "What a grubby little corner... did you try to summon spirits here, or something?" A stern look at a nearby candle steadied the flame momentarily, but continued to flicker the moment Maea's attention wandered.

And soon you are forgotten
A whisper within a sigh

With both of them sitting backwards in their chairs, Maea's horns, and Tal's general scruffiness, they definitely looked like the after-school detention club hanging out in the corner and planning some new delinquency.

The courier scowled at the volume in his hands - A report on the life cycle of black aphids in the Celestine - and slapped it shut before dropping it onto the pile of books beside him. A chill breeze fluttered past, disturbing the candles until Maea's magic steadied them, at least for a moment.

"None," Tal admitted in disgust to her first question. "I dunno where t'even start. This is the section for th'most recent shit." He waved at the nearest shelves. "But so far it's been stupid stuff 'bout normal plant diseases." True, a lot of them had words like 'black' or 'dark' or 'shadow' in the name, but further reading had revealed simple fungal or infestation issues of the perfectly mundane Caido variety.

At her grumbling he finally glanced over, however, dark brows beetling as he snorted in an uncanny echo of his dragon. "An' risk pissin' off Ludo? As if. It's got it out for me enough already!" He squinted at her, trying to figure out if she was calling him grubby, but gave up after just a few seconds. "What about you? Went on a shoppin' spree?"

The offended breeze gathered itself and swept past the candle Maea had been steadying the moment her attention wavered, snuffing the flame out and darkening the little corner further as the temperature dropped another few degrees.

Maea

And time it waits for no one
It heals them when you die

Grunting at the echo rising from the roughly handled volume, Maea pushed the book stack around so she could see what Tal had gathered up. All in all it was not a bad selection, but she soon realized what one of the problems were. "I think you went too far back in time with these. Remember, these void things haven't been around for even a full year. If there are official reports published alredy, they're bound to have very recent dates." Might not even be public either, if someone was clamping down on what information the general population could have.

Chilled by the stubborn draft she tucked both hands into the pockets of her coat and hunched her shoulders to the ears. With the chin propped on the chair's backrest Maea glanced over at the courier, at his remark.
"Why would Ludo be pissed about your summons? Did something happen?" If she was jealous at all that her friend could even converse with the Herald, she did a good job of pushing it down.

Her bags didn't even get a second glance. "Mhm. Needed some clothes... My things were destroyed when the moon fell." Perhaps she should prioritize a house first, but... buying underware felt less permanent than putting down roots.

And soon you are forgotten
A whisper within a sigh

Tal frowned at the loreseeker, brows beetling together fiercely over his nose. "'Course I know how long they've been around," he said, hackles rising at the implication that he was stupid. "Hail, I was one o'th'first ones t'check out th'meteor site. An' Sah an' I took notes. All o' those are from after that. An' none of 'em are official," he added frostily, his pride piqued. "These're all student reports. Dissertations an' stuff. I figure th'official stuff's all in th'Tower, not here." Sent straight to Sohalia's desk, or to the Dragoons, but probably not to the school.

Unless some enterprising students had gone out to poke at the new flora and fauna for extra credit. He was banking on unofficial reports like that not having been sent to the Tower. Hopefully.

He had just picked up another booklet to leaf through when the candle blew out, timed to the unfortunate mention of Ludo's name. Tal flinched, jerking his head around as if to spy a stray whisker, but there was nothing but dancing shadows around them and he hunched his shoulders, grumbling an answer: "Nah. It's just... it always makes fun o' me." It had never not helped him, sure... but it seemed to delight in giving him embarrassing or painful tasks to complete in return.

He paused in the second chapter of the book, squinting down at the title, but he lost track of what Maea was saying as the pages suddenly and violently fanned themselves, flipping swiftly to the end of the book and slamming itself shut on his fingers. Tal dropped it onto the desk with a yelp and shoved his chair back--

Except since he'd been sitting on it backwards he ended up pushing himself off it completely and landing on his ass on the floor, pointing at the book with wide eyes. "Hey! Did y'see that??"

Maea

And time it waits for no one
It heals them when you die

"Alright, jeez. How am I supposed to know that?" Maea rolled her eyes at the outburst, in no mood to take the blame for imagined slights when none were intended. "What are you doing with those then, if they don't have anything on the void stuff?" She'd thought that was the whole purpouse of coming here.

Unlike Tal, the ancient didn't get her tail in a twist when the candle suddenly blew. The flipping pages continued to another book when Tal fell, but was interrupted when she quickly reached out and flipped the hardcover of the volume shut. But while she looked perfectly calm, from his position on the floor Tal might notice that her tail had gone quite rigid.

"I saw. For someone uncomfortable around Ludo, you seem pretty good at finding haunted spots. First Mourn, now this..." Smiling sharply without much humor, Maea glanced down at the Messenger. "Sure you've not mistaken your true calling? I kind of get why Ludo might enjoy playing with you. That was a nice reaction."

Her eyes moved on, scanning the line along the ceiling. At the very edge of her periphery a movement was perceived; the faint outline of a hand, a mouth moving in agitation. Shouting something she couldn't hear. Chills trailed icy fingers up and down her spine; "So? Do we ignore it, or do something? Just so you know, I have no abilities that can deal with ghosts."

And soon you are forgotten
A whisper within a sigh

"I haven't looked at all of 'em yet. Maybe there's void stuff in th'pile over there." Tal grumbled, nodding his head towards the books by his right elbow that he'd pulled but hadn't had a chance to get to yet. It was still a good-sized stack, a little bigger than the one beside him on the floor to his left that held the ones he'd already skimmed and rejected.

But that conversation was ended rather abruptly with the book that suddenly rejected him, sending the courier into a hasty retreat that he'd regret once the adrenaline wore off and he felt the bruise on his tailbone.

And speaking of tailbones, maybe Maea wasn't quite as nonchalant as she seemed, if that tail was any indication. Fox's had been a pretty good guide to his mood, too, and a glance of pale eyes noticed that the Ancient was looking a little tense in the rudder department.

Her too-insightful observation drew a groan from the courier as he picked himself up cautiously, eyes darting around the shadowed corner. "An' there was th'house in th'Mistbanks..." he muttered under his breath before speaking up more loudly. "Don't even joke about that! I don't want t'be some cursed ghost magnet!" As for why Ludo got such a kick out of teasing him, well...

He didn't have any good answer to that, so he pretended he hadn't heard it as he edged back towards the carrel, stretching his fingers for the candle and responding to her other comment about abilities instead. "Yeah, well, me neither. Not sure it'll let us ignore it, though." He frowned, chewing his lip fiercely as he manged to snatch up the candle and started to fumble a firestriker out of his Bag. "What if it's tryin' t'tell us somethin'? 'Bout th'books?" As soon as he'd finished speaking the ember on the candle's wick suddenly burst into bright blue flame, burning fiercely. Tal nearly dropped it, fumbling with it desperately to recover it before it hit the ground and just barely managing to steady his hands as the fire burned straight up and down without a hint of shaking in spite of how his hands were trembling.

Maea

And time it waits for no one
It heals them when you die

She chuckled under breath, amused by his fretting. Perhaps it was callous of her, but Maea didn't feel very sorry for the courier. She had never been afraid of ghosts, or the dark, or indeed any visions of the dead. The sputtering candle was given a look of mild interest, but most of her attention was on that hint of movement at the corner of her eye.

"Oh, I'm sure its trying to tell us something," she replied, some life returning to her tail, "it's just not very clear. Hey, ghosty! If you understand me, flicker the candle. One time for no, two for yes."

Holding her breath, Maea steadied all the other lights with a touch of magic, red rising in her eyes as she did so. Then waited, half looking at Tal and half at the candle in his hands.

And soon you are forgotten
A whisper within a sigh

There were few things Tal disliked more than people feeling sorry for him, though he wasn't exactly fond of people laughing at him, either. He shot Maea a suspicious glance as the sound of what might have been a muffled chuckle reached him, but the candle demanded his attention again before he could decide if he'd heard right.

The candle - or rather, whatever was animating it - didn't seem too fond of Maea's name for it. The candle flickered once but spectacularly, a burst of thin and twisting blue fire nearly a foot tall that left frost on Tal's eyebrows before he could jerk away. The flame subsided back to a normal height but then began to burn sideways, parallel to the floor. It was pointing in the direction of the stacks of shelves that Tal had been pillaging for books, and the courier glared down at it with a grumpy scowl.

"So we're goin' that way, I guess?" He struggled to keep his eyes warily on the flame while also trying to glance at Maea. "Unless you got a better idea?"

Maea

And time it waits for no one
It heals them when you die

Even she flinched at the suddenness of the outburst this time. Scowling at the rudeness of the spirit, Maea crossed her arms over her chest and followed the path of the flame once it had gone down enough that she could see again.

"Nope, you're the spirit master. Lead the way; guess I'm relegated to assistant this time." Was she jealous? Maaaaybe... but she could admit she didn't have the right disposition to deal with someone's touchy feelings today, living or dead. She felt more like whacking something with the books than reading.

Rising, she nevertheless took it upon herself to drag the bookstack over.
"Should I just pick through these until our spirit burps again?" she asked, and proceded to do just that without waiting for an answer. One book to a new pile, two, three, and so on and so forth; she braced for any sign of the candle bobbing.

And soon you are forgotten
A whisper within a sigh

"Wait, aren't you comin' with me?" Tal didn't quit yelp, but there was a definite note of alarm in his voice when Maea settled in with the books. The candle flame was pointing towards a series of shelves that weren't very well-lit; there could be anything back there! Like... like sentient books! Or spiders! Or sentient books about spiders!

The courier edged towards them anyways and the flame brightened slightly. He stepped back, and it dimmed. Biting his lip, he started slowly walking forward while the flame continued to burn sideways, like some sort of fiery compass needle. One that definitely wasn't pointing north, and which might have been pointing towards some sort of Doom.

Capital D.

He paused at the edge of an aisle between shelves, looking back at the Ancient with pleading eyes. "You're a loreseeker, right? What if this thing is leadin' us to, y'know, lore?"

Maea

And time it waits for no one
It heals them when you die

Looking up from a volume on black-spot fever, Maea gave Tal a long look, that managed to incorporate the candle and its accompanying ghost.
"And what if it's nothing more than a raunchy novel stacked in the wrong shelf? We're in a school, I doubt any ghost will have much groundbreaking lore to add to the world. Besides, your friend doesn't like me."  

But the plea in the man's eyes finally had her resenting. With a sigh Maea got up and came over, shooing him on with a wave of her hands. "Go on then."
She could watch hus back, if that made Tal feel better. Maybe he wouldn't snap at her again if she went along with this impromptu seance.

And soon you are forgotten
A whisper within a sigh

"Nothin' wrong with raunchy novels," Tal muttered under his breath, scowling down at the candle. "But that would be a pretty stupid reason not t'move on t'Mort's--Ow!" The fire changed direction briefly, flaring back to singe the courier's fingers. He managed not to drop the candle but he glared at it, wounded, before sneaking a guilty look over his shoulder to see if Maea had seen the interaction.

"Uh... I don't think it's a raunchy novel," he tried to assure her, when he himself wasn't certain if the spirit had been admonishing him for doubting it, or for judging it.

He was just glad that she was there, and that he wasn't tip-toeing off into the shadowy recesses of the library with only a grouchy ghost with unknown intentions for company.

Because even though there should have been lamps back here among the tall, dusty shelves where few students ever ventured, it was unnervingly dark, and the sounds from the rest of the library seemed dull and distant. Tal hurriedly tugged his Goggles up from around his neck and over his eyes, but their inherent properties noted no illusions. It only made it easier to see in the dimness.

And then the candle flared and twisted to point back at where he had just passed and the courier came to an abrupt halt. "So, uh... can y'see what section we're in?" he asked Maea uneasily as he peered at the books around them that had taken on an ominous cast under the supernatural circumstances.

Maea

And time it waits for no one
It heals them when you die

Biting the inside of her cheek so Tal wouldn't catch her laughing at his burned fingers, Maea gave up and simply nodded. The journey into the shadowed alcoves would have been more fun if she still had night vision, but quite unfortunately that was a trait she had lost - alongside the very convenient ability to make herself scarce.

Initially shaking her head at Tal's question, she reached for a book in the nearest shelf. "Mhm, somewhere between 'Applied alchemy' aaaand  –" she scanned another volume from the next one, "'Cults of the Pre-war Era'. Huh." Pale eyebrows rose and Maea gave the possessed candle a long, considering look. "Goodness me, aren't we approaching rebellious subjects. Not what I would expect of a prim Stormbreak student." Then she recalled the rigid stone buildings, and the stuck up attitude towards magic, and the distinct lack of contact with anything for all the years before the recent war. "Actually, nevermind. Maybe it's exactly what to expect from any student."

But the candle was not pointing to either of these shelves, so Maea backtracked and squinted at the stacks it seemed to indicate. "Some light, please? I can't see what the sign says."

And soon you are forgotten
A whisper within a sigh